Here to Stay
by You May Call Me Red
Summary: 'But I don't want to never see you again.' He didn't want to never see her again either, obviously. If she was all he saw for the rest of his life, he probably wouldn't mind. Disclaimer: all Shonda's. JOLEX! Because I am utterly invested in this ship. Currently a one-shot, will quite possible continue.


**A/N **And here's more Jolex! I need these two to be canon. Now. Set directly after 'This is Why We Fight'.

_**Here to Stay**_

_'But I don't want to never see you again'._

The words beat through Alex's head like a drum. He was sitting alone on the couch she'd bought him, beer in hand, and was wishing desperately to rid his mind of the brunette beauty he couldn't seem to escape. Cristina and Owen had left to celebrate them buying the hospital with the rest; he didn't even have anyone around to distract him.

Taking another swig from the bottle, he groaned. He didn't want to never see her again either, obviously. If she was all he saw for the rest of his life, he probably wouldn't mind. And yet, he'd walked away. Every single time he'd had a chance to change things between them, he'd walked away.

A while ago, sometime before his intern year, he'd seen a psychiatrist who had told him that he tended to run from things that were good for him. Now, 7 or so years later, he couldn't help but think that she was right. If it wasn't true then what the hell was he doing? Running from someone who _isn't _good for him? But that's simply not true because if there's one thing he's certain of it's that she's the best thing that's ever happened to him in his screwed up life.

"Life sucks," Alex muttered as he flicked mindlessly though channels. Actually, a lot of things sucked; he was just generalising. And still, his mind was filled with thoughts of _her. _Of thoughts he shouldn't be thinking about anyone, least of all her. His best friend; the only person on the planet who really understood him. The fact that someone as great as her was able to understand him was actually quite astounding, he thought.

Every now and then, he found himself glancing at the phone, like the sad 14 year old girl he was certain she never was. What he was waiting for, he didn't know. That she would call? No, he didn't want her to call. What he wanted, if he was being honest, was her to give one little hint that he wasn't insane for feeling the way he felt. Or, even better, he wanted her to give a hint that maybe- just maybe- she felt the same.

At the same time, he hoped she didn't. If she didn't, it meant he could go on pretending that he wasn't terribly in love with her. He wouldn't have to screw up one of the few healthy relationships he had left. God knows he did that enough.

As he sat there drowning his sorrows with alcohol, the reason for his sorrows came barrelling through the front door.

"It is really cold out there," Jo said, breathless. She trudged into the lounge room, shaking droplets of water from her silky curls. "Like, _freezing_." Instead of joining him on the lounge, she leant against the wall by the TV, accidentally pulling out the cord with her converse-clad feet. She mumbled an apology that didn't sound all that sincere.

Alex glanced from the door to her, and raised a questioning eyebrow.

Grinning in that mischievous way of her's, she held up a key. "I had a copy made a while ago."

Only Jo, he thought as he shook his head. He offered her his beer, which she gladly took as she sat down next to him. For hours, the two of them joked and laughed just as they always did, neither mentioning what had happened.

In the early hours of morning, they were still awake. Jo gave a small yawn from where she was sprawled out across his lap. "I'm so glad I have today off," she murmured. Peering up at him, she grimaced. "Look, about yesterday-"

"You're not going to never see me again," Alex interrupted. "They saved the hospital. You're kind of stuck with me." He grinned slightly, absently resting a hand on her thigh.

She gave him a small smile in return. "Yeah?" she asked hopefully. When he nodded, her smile grew. "Good. Then we're forgetting that embarrassing moment ever happened. If you bring it up again, I will castrate you."

Oddly enough, he didn't doubt that. "Fair enough. But just so you know, I'm here to stay. And you damn well better be too."

Standing and stretching, she rolled her eyes at him. "Whatever, person who writes poems about horses," she teased. "Anyway, I'm beat. I'm going to hijack your bed for a while. Night. Or, you know, morning."

"Oh, and Jo?" She turned to look at him, and he couldn't resist. "Don't go anywhere; I don't want to never see you again."

Narrowing her eyes, she picked something up off the mantelpiece- a picture of him and Zola- and threw it at him. "I dislike you so much right now."

When she'd disappeared from his view, Alex smirked. "Love you, too, princess," he yelled after her, and she made a point of stomping her way up the steps.

Leaning back, Alex sighed. _If only you knew, _he thought. _If only you knew._

**A/N **So I think that was alright, yeah? You should tell me what you thought of it. There's a chance I'll continue if people want it, 'cause my other Jolex fic is sadly coming to an end.


End file.
